1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the chiropractic adjustment of musculoskeletal structures, and more particularly concerns an improved chiropractic adjusting instrument for use in spinal manipulative therapy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The chiropractic art is generally concerned with adjusting misaligned body structures by manually manipulating the various joints in the human body. Of more specific interest in the art, however, is the spinal column which is comprised of several interconnected musculoskeletal structures or vertebrae. Unlike other, less critical body structures, the spinal column must be treated or manipulated with extreme caution because of its link with the central nervous system.
The human spine is susceptible to many different pathologic abnormalities including misalignment, miscellaneous trauma and pain, and degeneration as a result of age or disease. By employing various physical therapy techniques, though, a chiropractor, or one skilled in the chiropractic art, may be able to successfully treat a pathologic spine. Successful treatment will not only relieve any pain or discomfort that the patient might be suffering, but will also improve the overall quality of life of that patient.
One common spinal-adjustment technique involves applying thrusts or forces to the afflicted region of the spine. In particular, this technique involves either "mobilizing" the spine (i.e. passively moving the spine with relatively slow cyclic or oscillatory motion), or "manipulating" the spine (i.e. applying an impulsive thrust or force in a well-defined direction to a specific region of the spine). Depending on professional affiliations, this technique is referred to as chiropractic adjustment, osteopathic manipulation, orthopaedic manual therapy, and/or spinal manipulative therapy.
There are several well known procedures or techniques for "manipulating" or administering impulsive thrusts to a spine. One technique involves applying one or more rapid thumb thrusts to misaligned or afflicted vertebrae. Thumb thrusts, however, tend to be both imprecise in magnitude and location and tiresome to administer. Another technique involves using a manually operated chiropractic adjusting instrument. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,235, issued to Fuhr et al. ("Fuhr") and U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,464, issued to Morgan, Jr., disclose such instruments.
The Fuhr device, in particular, is a manually operated, spring-loaded device for delivering an impact force or thrust to a patient's spine at a rapid speed and in a precise line of drive. Further, although the magnitude of the impact force delivered by the Fuhr device is adjustable, the frequency at which the impact force is delivered is completely arbitrary. As such, the Fuhr device is not mechanically "tuned" to any particular frequency.
The ability to "tune" a chiropractic adjusting instrument to a desired frequency, though, would offer the chiropractic clinician several significant advantages over the prior art. For instance, a chiropractic adjusting instrument that is "tuned" or "tunable" to the natural frequency of a human spine would maximize the dynamic motion response of the spine while, at the same time, minimize the magnitude of the requisite impact force. Such a chiropractic adjusting instrument would not only enhance the overall effectiveness of spinal manipulative therapy, but would also decrease the possibility of damage to the vertebrae during such treatment.